Comparing Models on the Optionality of Complementizer Omission

Abstract

Different studies in generative grammar have tried to explain the optionality with respect to the complementizer omission across languages and across structures. Specifically, the complementizer omission in declarative embedded contexts introduced by the so-called bridge verbs. In this paper, we test two models postulating different derivations and marking different predictions to the nature of the complementizer omission: one model stipulates the deletion of the complementizer (complementizer deletion), whereas the second model focuses on the verbal elements of the embedded clause (complementizer rise, when present). To reach our goal, we explore large-scale datasets (syntactically annotated treebanks of German, Italian and Old Florentine) and adopt simple computational models to compare and test the models under investigation. Our results suggest that the predictions of the complementizer deletion hypotheses are confirmed by German data, while those of the complementizer rise model are partially corroborated by Italian data. We consider this study as a blueprint for finer-grained research.

Keywords

• Bridge Verbs. Complementizer Deletion. German. Italo-Romance. Quantitative Computational Syntax